September 30th 2017
Three down, one to go
Alastair starts a four-year course in Biosciences at Durham University tomorrow and Mary and I are driving there to get him settled into Hild Bede or, more formally, the College of St Hild and St Bede. The car is packed with everything and more that a first-year university student requires, including the essential door-stop to show that his room is always open for friends. There is no doubt, however, that despite all our plans something important will have been left behind. Not only will this be expensive, but it will be something that Alastair cannot do without on his first day and will need, therefore, to be bought in Durham when we arrive.
Most parents feel that they should impart ‘Words of Wisdom’ to their offspring when leaving home for University and often accompany these with amusing anecdotes about their own embarrassing antics when a student. I remember writing Jonathan a letter containing such parental advice, which I am sure he ignored, and hopefully binned. An attempt to write a similar letter to Tom was aborted as I realised whilst doing so that wisdom had somehow deserted me.
Pen has not even touched paper for Alastair and I will have only a few words to say to him when we leave him at Hild and Bede: enjoy yourself; make friends; try not to embarrass yourself too much; and work hard.
Post script
Although I wrote this blog before we dropped Alastair off in Durham, I have posted it (back-dated) two days later. The photographs were taken on his first day. The important (expensive) item that we left behind was a printer!
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